The Ram Hurricane engine is a 3.0 litre twin turbocharged inline six, and in the 2027 Ram 1500 Stellantis Canada rates it two ways: the Standard Output at 420 horsepower and 469 lb ft of torque, and the High Output at 540 horsepower and 521 lb ft. Both tunes make more power and more torque than the 5.7 litre HEMI V8, which Stellantis Canada rates at 395 horsepower and 410 lb ft. If you want to see which engine is in which truck, our new Ram 1500 inventory in Portage la Prairie is online, and the window sticker on each truck names the engine in plain language.

The question still comes up the same way: is it a six or a V8? A pickup with two fewer cylinders than the one in your driveway sounds like a downgrade until you look at what it makes and what it tows, which our Ram 1500 towing capacity guide lays out by configuration. Here is what the Hurricane is, what the two versions are for, where it also shows up under a Dodge badge, and the honest read against the V8 people still ask for by name.

Key Takeaways

• The Hurricane is a 3.0 litre twin turbocharged inline six, and it comes in two tunes rather than one.
• Standard Output: 420 horsepower and 469 lb ft. High Output: 540 horsepower and 521 lb ft. Those are Stellantis Canada's 2027 Ram 1500 figures.
• The Standard Output beats the 5.7 HEMI on both counts. Stellantis Canada rates the 5.7 litre HEMI V8, with or without eTorque, at 395 horsepower and 410 lb ft in the 2027 Ram 1500.
• The Standard Output is the tow rating leader of the two. Stellantis Canada lists maximum towing of up to 5,230 kg (11,530 lb) with the Standard Output and up to 4,300 kg (9,480 lb) with the High Output.
• Dodge sells the same engine as the SIXPACK. In the 2026 Dodge Charger, the R/T's standard output version makes 420 horsepower and 468 lb ft and the Scat Pack's high output version makes 550 horsepower and 531 lb ft.
• The 5.7 HEMI still has real arguments in its favour. None of them are output numbers, and we lay them out below.

What the Ram Hurricane Engine Actually Is

Strip the marketing off and it is a 3.0 litre inline six with two turbochargers, built to do the work a bigger V8 used to do. The important structural point is that it arrived as a family, not a single engine, and the two versions are tuned for different jobs.

The inline six layout is worth a sentence on its own, because it is an engineering choice rather than a styling one: six cylinders in a straight line are naturally well balanced, which is why the layout has a long history in engines built to work. Add two turbos and you get strong torque without needing high revs, which is the part that matters when there is a trailer behind you and you are pulling out of a farm approach onto the Trans-Canada Highway.

Standard Output Versus High Output

This is the distinction most people miss, and it is the one that changes which truck you should buy.

Standard Output: 420 horsepower and 469 lb ft. This is the towing and working version. Stellantis Canada lists it with the higher maximum tow rating of the two, up to 5,230 kg (11,530 lb). If you pull a trailer, haul in the box and drive the truck every day, this is the engine, and it is not a consolation prize: 469 lb ft from a three litre engine.

High Output: 540 horsepower and 521 lb ft. This is the performance tune. Its maximum tow rating in Stellantis Canada's 2027 figures is lower, up to 4,300 kg (9,480 lb). The 3.0 litre Hurricane High Output, tested in a 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten, was named to the Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems list for 2024. It is a genuinely impressive engine, and it is also more engine than most working trucks need.

The practical way to think about it: the Standard Output is the answer for almost everybody, and the High Output is for the person who knows exactly why they want it. Which engines are offered on which trims changes by model year, so check the window sticker of the truck you are looking at, or ask our team.

The Dodge Hurricane Engine: The SIXPACK

If you searched for the Dodge Hurricane engine, it is the same 3.0 litre twin turbo straight six, sold under the SIXPACK name in the 2026 Dodge Charger. Stellantis Canada's release puts the Charger R/T's standard output SIXPACK at 420 horsepower and 468 lb ft, and the Charger Scat Pack's high output SIXPACK at 550 horsepower and 531 lb ft, which the release calls the most powerful version of the Hurricane in production.

So the engine family is shared, but the tune is matched to the vehicle. A Charger and a Ram 1500 with "high output" on the sticker do not make the same numbers: 550 horsepower and 531 lb ft in the Charger Scat Pack, 540 horsepower and 521 lb ft in the Ram.

The Honest Comparison Against the HEMI

Rule of the house is that we do not stack the deck, so here is the whole picture.

Where the Hurricane wins, on numbers Stellantis Canada publishes. The Standard Output makes 420 horsepower and 469 lb ft. The 5.7 litre HEMI V8 in the 2027 Ram 1500 makes 395 horsepower and 410 lb ft, with or without eTorque. That is 25 more horsepower and 59 more lb ft for the six, before you get to the High Output. If somebody tells you the six is the weaker engine, the published figures do not support it.

Fuel economy. What your truck returns in the real world depends on your right foot, your trailer and a Manitoba headwind as much as the badge, and our Ram 1500 fuel economy breakdown gives the Natural Resources Canada ratings by engine.

Where the 5.7 HEMI genuinely wins, and it is not nothing.

It sounds like a V8, and if that matters to you, it matters. No amount of torque talk changes the fact that a turbocharged six does not make the noise a lot of truck buyers grew up wanting.

It is mechanically simpler in the ways that count for a person who keeps trucks a long time: no turbochargers and no charge air plumbing.

It has a very long service history, and a great many technicians have years of experience with it. That is a real form of certainty. We are not going to speculate about how the Hurricane ages over decades, because nobody can say that honestly yet. If long term familiarity is the thing you weigh most, that argument favours the V8 today. Our Ram 1500 Night Edition HEMI piece covers trucks where the V8 is the point.

Where it is a tie. Both will pull what a half ton should pull, both will start on a February morning with a block heater and decent maintenance, and both will get you to Winnipeg and back without drama.

Hurricane Engine Warranty by Model Year

Warranty depends on the model year of the truck, not on the engine name. A 2026 model year Ram 1500 bought or leased new by a retail customer carries Ram Canada's 10 year or 160,000 km limited powertrain warranty, whichever comes first; it is for the 2026 model year only, not offered to fleet customers, and not transferable except where provincial law requires. A 2027 Ram 1500 carries Ram Canada's standard warranty, including 5 years or 100,000 km of fully transferable limited powertrain coverage with a $0 deductible, other than the TRX SRT, whose powertrain term is 3 years or 60,000 km. Our Ram warranty coverage guide goes through the rest.

The Manitoba Part

Two things worth knowing here that you will not find in a brochure.

The first is about turbochargers and cold. A turbo engine is no problem in a Manitoba winter, but it rewards a gentle start: drive easily for the first few minutes on a 30 below morning rather than asking for full power straight away, and follow the owner's manual for your truck on cold starts and on cooling down after a long, heavy tow. That is good practice with any turbocharged engine, not a Ram quirk.

The second is about how you should choose. Almost nobody out here needs to pick an engine on a horsepower number. Choose it on what you tow, how often, and how long you intend to keep the truck. Bring us the trailer weight and an honest count of how many times a year you hook up, and that conversation lands somewhere useful quickly. The gas versus diesel Ram 1500 comparison is the next step if the trailer is heavy enough to raise the question.

So Which One Should You Buy?

If you tow a trailer, haul in the box and want the most sensible truck for the job: the Standard Output Hurricane. More power and more torque than the 5.7 HEMI V8, and the higher tow rating of the two Hurricane tunes.

If you want the sound, the familiarity and the long service record more than you want the numbers: the 5.7 HEMI, honestly and without apology. It is still offered in the 2027 Ram 1500.

If you know precisely why you want 540 horsepower: the High Output, and enjoy it.

For current factory offers on the half ton, ask our team which offers apply to the truck you are looking at, or browse our new Ram 1500 inventory. If you are moving something on, the instant cash offer tool tells you where you stand before you drive in, and our service department looks after whichever engine you land on.

FAQs

What is the Ram Hurricane engine?

A 3.0 litre twin turbocharged inline six from Stellantis. In the 2027 Ram 1500, Stellantis Canada rates the Standard Output at 420 horsepower and 469 lb ft, and the High Output at 540 horsepower and 521 lb ft.

Is the Hurricane more powerful than the 5.7 HEMI V8?

Yes, in both tunes. Stellantis Canada rates the 5.7 litre HEMI V8 in the 2027 Ram 1500 at 395 horsepower and 410 lb ft, while the Standard Output Hurricane makes 420 horsepower and 469 lb ft and the High Output makes 540 horsepower and 521 lb ft.

What is the difference between Standard Output and High Output?

The tune and the job. The Standard Output makes 420 horsepower and 469 lb ft and carries the higher maximum tow rating, up to 5,230 kg (11,530 lb). The High Output makes 540 horsepower and 521 lb ft, with a maximum tow rating of up to 4,300 kg (9,480 lb).

Is the Dodge Hurricane engine the same as the Ram's?

It is the same 3.0 litre twin turbo straight six, which Dodge sells as the SIXPACK. In the 2026 Dodge Charger, Stellantis Canada rates the R/T's standard output version at 420 horsepower and 468 lb ft and the Scat Pack's high output version at 550 horsepower and 531 lb ft.

Has the Hurricane won any awards?

Yes. The 3.0 litre Hurricane High Output, tested in a 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten, was named to the Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems list for 2024.

What warranty covers the Hurricane engine?

It depends on the model year. A 2026 model year Ram 1500 bought or leased new by a retail customer carries Ram Canada's 10 year or 160,000 km limited powertrain warranty, whichever comes first, for the 2026 model year only. A 2027 Ram 1500 carries 5 years or 100,000 km of limited powertrain coverage, other than the TRX SRT.

Can I still get a V8 in a Ram 1500?

Yes. Stellantis Canada lists three HEMI V8s in the 2027 Ram 1500: the 5.7 litre, with and without eTorque, at 395 horsepower and 410 lb ft; the 6.4 litre at 470 horsepower and 470 lb ft; and the TRX's supercharged 6.2 litre at 777 horsepower and 680 lb ft. Ask our team which trucks have which engine, because it varies by build.

The Honest Close

The Ram Hurricane engine is not a compromise Ram is asking you to accept. It makes more power and more torque than the 5.7 HEMI V8 it sits beside in the lineup, from roughly half the displacement, and its high output version earned a place on a list that does not hand those out lightly.

What we will not do is tell you the V8 question is settled. The reasons people still want the 5.7 HEMI over a Hurricane are legitimate, just not numerical. The best test is still the oldest one: drive a Hurricane and a HEMI back to back on the same road on the same afternoon. Ask our team at Dunn Ram Trucks in Portage la Prairie whether we can set that up.